It's these exact hits, and situations that drive me nuts. Players are all to willing to turn their backs along the boards to draw a penalty, without even considering the risk they expose themselves too. Then it's the guy that makes the hit that gets tossed from the game, and possibly suspended or fined. People say "well he should have backed off, he should have avoided him", sure, that could have prevented the injury, but is that what we really want hockey to come too? A guy going in for a hit, and slowing up 5 feet away, just incase the guy he's targeting decides to turn his back? That's not hockey. Hockey is a physical game, played at high speeds. Players need to be more responsible for their own safety. Turning your back along the boards is no different than diving, you are embellishing a play, to draw a penalty. They penalize Diving now, and they should penalize a player for turning his back along the boards, it's dumb, and it's dangerous.
The best way to prevent the injury in this scenario, is for Sedin to make the right decision. prepare for the hit, get the arms up, and battle hard along the boards once he's pinned, rather than exposing his back, looking down at the ice, and keeping his hands by his waist and waiting to draw the penalty by going face first into the glass.
I hate to see anyone injured, but I also hate to see players get tossed from games, suspended, fined, or have to worry about the health of a guy that made a stupid choice to try to draw a penalty.
|